92 



THE FOREST TENT CATERPILLAR 



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and warbling vireos, cedar birds, and nuthatclies feeding upon 

 the caterpillars. The nuthatches, according to Miss Soule's 

 account, " would stand by a patch of larvLB lying close together 

 below a tar band on a tree and eat so voraciously and with 



such an entire abandon- 

 ment of self-conscious- 

 ness that I could go 

 close and put my hand 

 o n them before they 

 would fly. This expe- 

 rience was repeated sev- 

 eral times." The co- 

 coons were attacked bv 

 chickadees (Fig. 31)^ 

 wiiich tore open the co- 

 coons and fed upon the 

 pup^e, as well as by nut- 

 hatches. The moths 

 were also eaten in great 

 numbers by many sorts 

 of birds, including rob- 

 ins, chipping sparrows, 

 yellow birds, and even 

 English sparrows, although this last-named species apparently 

 did not eat the caterpillars. 



In some localities the Forest Tent Caterpillars were attacked 

 by what appeared to be a bacterial disease similar to the one 

 which destroyed so many of the American Tent Caterpillars in 

 southern New Hampshire in the summer of 1S98. (See Bulle- 

 tin 59, p. 202.) It is to be hoped that the present season it 

 may complete its work, for this is probably the agency that is 

 most likely to check the outbreak. Its destructive effect is 

 likely to be increased by weakness in the caterpillars, due to 

 the partial exhaustion of the food supply. There was also 

 evidence that a fungus disease called "muscardine" was at 

 work among them. 



REMEDIAL MEASURES 



Many remedial measures have been proposed at various 

 times to prevent the injuries of the Forest Tent Caterpillar. 



Fig. 32. The Chipping Sparrow. 



